Christian Vande Velde figured it’s been about 200 days of training for and riding in the Tour de France and more than 150 of those have been spent in a hotel room.

That’s 75-percent of the time away from family and friends, along with having to shy yourself away from the extra snacks or drinks that affect performance.

It paid off for Vande Velde, a Lemont native, last weekend as he coasted across the finish line in Paris on Sunday as the fifth-best rider in the field — his best finish.

However, a couple extra glasses of celebratory champaign and a few more hours of sleep have to wait as Vande Velde leaves Monday for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He will compete in the Road Race on Aug. 9, one day after the Opening Ceremonies.

“I wish it was at a different time and I’d probably be a little more excited right now,” Vande Velde said three days after the conclusion of the Tour de France. “I know when I get there I will be excited and ready to go, but right now I’d just like to be in a dark room.”

However, with the Olympics on the horizon and fatigue setting in following the grueling 21-stage, 3,500-kilometer tour, it was tough to dampen the spirits of Vande Velde.

His best finish before Sunday was 24th and he was the top American rider. Vande Velde came into Paris on Sunday in three hours, 51 minutes and 45 seconds to secure fifth place and had a combined time of 87 hours, 55 minutes and 57 seconds to finish just over three minutes behind champion Carlos Sastre of Spain.

“It’s an amazing feeling, but it’s a little bitter sweet,” Vande Velde said. “I know now that I can compete with the best guys. But I’m really happy with fifth. It was miles ahead of what I thought I would do.”

Vande Velde, an 11-year professional, said it was more of a mental battle than physical throughout the three-week race.

He was also in a new position on a new team, Garmin-Chipotle, which was another adjustment. Vande Velde spent his first six years as a professional riding with seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong on his US Postal Team and learned from the best what it meant to be a leader.

“I was a true leader from start to finish and that changed things a lot,” Vande Velde said. “I trained soley for the Tour de France. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself because if you crash on the first day, it’s over. But I was basing all my success on the tour — it’s the pinacle of the sport so for good reason. Everything we did was a cresendo leading up to this.”

After leaving the US Postal team, Vande Velde rode for Liberty Seguros in 2004 and Team CSC from 2005-2007. It was time for another change and Vande Velde chose Garmin-Chipotle, a smaller team which competed in the Tour de France for the first time this year.

“CSC has been the undisputed best team the last three years,” Vande Velde said. “They have great times and so many amazing riders. I just wanted a change and (team director) Jonathan (Vaughters) put together a great team. It’s based around anti-doping and I wanted to be part of something from the ground up. I wanted a lot of say of what went into it. I didn’t necessarily come to Garmin to be a leader, but that’s what has sort of happened and I am excepting the role.”

Vande Velde showed the true colors of a leader by bouncing back after crashing during the 16th stage. He dropped from third (38 seconds behind) to sixth (three-plus minutes behind). But he got his confidence back and rode strong down the stretch, exceeding his own and other’s expectations.

That made for a picture perfect ride on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday in Paris.
“That is always the best part of the race, bar none, riding up the Champs-Elysees,” said Vande Velde, who moved back to Lemont last fall. “You don’t feel any pain and you have goosebumps all over your body. You want to soak it all in and feel the moment.”

Family tradition
Christian Vande Velde will compete in his second Olympic Games next week in Beijing (he also competed in the 2004 Sydney games). His father, John, was a two-time Olympic cyclist in 1968 (Mexico City) and 1972 (Munich).